“I still cannot believe my eyes as I see the machines of our new factory, scattered to all corners,” said Rabah al-Hatto as he surveyed the rubble of his recently-established plastic water tank factory in northeast Gaza, which was bombed by Israeli warplanes early yesterday. Read more about New Gaza factory, jobs destroyed in Israeli attack 

GAZA CITY, occupied Gaza Strip (IRIN) - Despite ongoing protests calling for Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s immediate resignation, petrol is once again flowing through the tunnels from Egypt into Gaza after supplies were cut for a week due to the unrest, according to the Palestinian General Petroleum Corporation. Read more about Groups warn of humanitarian consequences of Gaza closure 

RAFAH, occupied Gaza Strip (IPS) - Mustapha Suleiman, 27, from J Block east of the Rafah crossing with Egypt, crosses through gaps in the iron fence on the border carrying bread, water, cans of meat and a handful of vegetables for Egyptian soldiers stationed on the other side. Read more about Palestinians in Gaza feed Egyptian troops 

CAIRO (IPS) - Over recent years, Egypt has witnessed mounting tension between its Muslim majority and its sizeable Coptic Christian minority. But in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, the site of ongoing mass protests against the ruling regime, members of both faiths chant in unison “Muslim, Christian, doesn’t matter; We’re all in this boat together!” Read more about Muslim-Christian unity characterizes Egypt's uprising 

OCCUPIED GAZA STRIP (IRIN) - More than a week of political unrest in Egypt has heightened the threat of a humanitarian crisis in neighboring Gaza. Egyptian soldiers fled their posts on the northern border on 30 January, forcing the Rafah crossing — a critical valve for the 1.5 million Palestinians living in Gaza — to close. Read more about Palestinians detained, prices soar as Rafah stays closed 

CAIRO (IPS) - Imam Mohammed al-Saba of the Eisa mosque here in the center of the rural town Kirdasa takes the pulpit to tell his congregation he can smell “the air of freedom for the first time in thirty years.” Read more about Smell of freedom is sweet in this small Egyptian town 

Israeli settlers shot and killed two Palestinian teenagers in separate incidents in the occupied West Bank, and then attacked the funeral procession for one of them. Meanwhile, Israeli forces continued to shoot at Palestinian laborers in Gaza and arrest and beat civilians in other parts of the country, including children. Read more about Settlers kill 2 Palestinian teens, soldiers attack funeral 

On 7 January, five Israeli soldiers invaded Subhya Qawasme’s home. Her husband, Amr, was shot to death while he was sleeping in their bed as Subhya prayed beside him. Amr Qawasme was 66 years old. He was a former construction worker, a father of 12 and a grandfather of 37. Charlotte Silver reports for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about Family of Amr Qawasme, murdered in his bed, seeks accountability